PETALING JAYA, Feb 19 — McDonald’s Malaysia today launched its Happy Meal Readers programme in an effort to create a passion for reading among young Malaysians.

Customers now get a brand new dinosaur-themed children’s storybook by world-renowned author and illustrator Cressida Cowell with every purchase of a Happy Meal.

Known for the bestselling How to Train Your Dragon series, Cowell has exclusively curated the 12-storybook series for McDonald’s Malaysia.

The book, titled Treetop Twins Adventures, will feature 12 standalone stories with one book released each month throughout the year.

To make the reading experience even more fun, digital versions of the books are also made available through the Happy Studio mobile application that can be downloaded for free on both the Play Store and Apple Store.

Through the app, families may read and interact with the stories to bring the book illustration to life with a scan feature — further amplifying the experience while nurturing valuable family time.

The physical and e-books will be available in both English and Bahasa Melayu specifically for the Malaysian market.

McDonald’s marketing director Eugene Lee demonstrates the features of the Happy Studio mobile application. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

McDonald’s Malaysia marketing director Eugene Lee said the commitment towards fostering a reading culture supports the company’s efforts to bring families closer together.

"We want to encourage families to spend more time together,” he said.

"The Happy Meal Readers programme encourages parents to enjoy quality time with their children through reading.

"We hope that the initiative will instill a lifelong love of reading among children by making it a fun activity for the whole family.”

He added that the programme was also in support of the government’s aspirations to make Malaysia a reading nation under the 10-year National Reading Decade Programme by the Education Ministry.

According to Lee, over 300,000 copies of the book’s first edition, which was released in January, have already been distributed nationwide.

About 300,000 mobile users logged into its Happy Studio App last month.

Families now have the option of choosing either a book or a toy with their Happy Meal purchases nationwide.